Notch Sets The Record Straight On Psychonauts 2

Notch has a message for us all: chill. Psychonauts 2 may happen, or it may not. Any possibility of the former is still in the most preliminary of stages. As Mojang's Markus 'Notch' Persson wrote in his latest blog update, "Stop hyping this over the Internet!"

If you're asking what "this" is, please direct your attention to last week, when the Minecraft creator offered on Twitter to help Double Fine's Tim Schafer make the long-requested sequel a reality. The gaming Internet promptly exploded with hope and speculation, prompting Notch to publicly address his fans in his typically forthcoming fashion.

The latest Word of Notch blog post amounts to a reality check for excited fans, a rundown of what's happened in this recently opened dialogue and where our expectations ought to be. Notch hasn't had a ton of contact with Schafer since this all started "other than a couple of e-mails," but there's a hope that they'll meet next month at GDC.

Whether or not that happens, Notch admits that "the budget for doing a Psychonauts 2 is three times higher than my initial impression." He notes that there are "a couple other parties... interested in investing in it," but money is far from the only issue that needs to be ironed out. Time is a question too, what with development starting on Double Fine Adventure following Schafer's wildly successful Kickstarter campaign.

As Notch writes toward the end of his post: "All I know is that IF the numbers work out and IF they still want to do it and IF they don’t decide to self fund a sequel by doing more crowd funding (which is honestly what I would’ve done if I were them), I would be most interested in doing this type of investment."

He threatens to start "doing things secretly instead of being open and transparent via Twitter," adding that "I am incredibly scared of the very real risk of people feeling let down just because I took a chance at something that doesn't end up panning out."

Look, Notch. We know. Really. I'm sure there are a few die-hards crowded into the darkest corners of the Internet who are already trying to put in their pre-order with one retailer or another, but for all of the mob mentality that exists on the Internet, it really just amounts to talk. We're excited. Psychonauts 2 has been a hoped-for thing for a very long time. You know this. You wouldn't have stepped up on Twitter in the first place if you didn't.

You're easily the most open and accessible "rock star" game developer in this industry, and no one wants you to change that just because we're all a little too excited. If this game doesn't happen, sure that's a bummer. No one is going to seriously knock you for trying to make it happen though. You're already a hero for starting the wheels turning. More importantly, if we don't get excited about those spinning wheels, then other potential investors might not be as easily swayed.

Thank you for being so forthcoming, as always. Don't change a thing. We'll all try to calm down a bit and let business take its course -- right, folks?! -- as long as you keep giving us the straight dope on how things are progressing, as time, wisdom and non-disclosure agreements permit. Deal?